WATERFALL AT LIBRARY OF DARKRODIN. June 30 2011

The waterfall was added inside the library on June 30th, causing the librarians enormous effort to keep the books dry in the highly humid conditions. The librarians, a mouse and a monkey, await any of your questions at the base of the falls.

WATERFALL AT MAZE GARDENS. July 5, 2011

The transition between the running stream on Plâteau of Man Park, and the white waters of Maze Gardens, has been a long lasting problem spot. On July 5, after seeing the ideal water fall at a friend's sim, I acquired the same landscape feature. Fitting it into place required minor terraforming. The transition between the two streams visually flows better now. The pool at the base of the falls reminds me of the Japanese baths at outdoor springs. It's a tranquil hidden spot.

THE WEEPING GATE & THE LIBRARY OF DARKRODIN

May 17 + 18, 2011

THE WEEPING GATE

The removal of the upper floors to the Library of Darkrodin

Due to the low number of prims available for use on the sim, the upper floors of the Library of Darkrodin were taken into inventory today. The old build had been the first location of hunts on ACC Alpha, housed a display of readable books, and a collection of artwork. The Library which sprawled over the Plateau of Man park, now affords open sky above the gardens.

The complex build of over 800 prims was collected in 31 linked batches for inventory. The original camel tour was also removed. But the price to pay was for a reason. As I’ve been participating in the UWA art challenges, I need the prims for my sculptures. Having rezzed my most recent work on the calm North Shore of the sim, I built a large stone background to help frame the piece. The frame became so intriguing to me, that I kept developing it until a viable architectural build in its own right emerged. The new gate was so large and inviting, that I wanted to see if I could make some interior space for it, even though the structure hugs the side of a cliff. The solution struck me to hollow a tunnel thru the cliff into the interior space of the subterranean level of the Library of Darkrodin. The link was challenging but successful. Terraforming in such a densely developed area presented numerous barriers. There was no land to see over the city when in bulldozer mode, so I had to go to the bottom of the sea. Placing cube prims over the city scape to delineate a path for the tunnel, I then sunk them on Z axis below the sea to mark where the land needed to be chiseled away. It was a sandwich: ocean and land below, city and park between, and rezzed cubes above to show the path necessary to cut the tunnel. Next, I lined the walls in crystal, and refer to this tunnel as the Ice Cave.

Ironically, the placement of my sculpture “Immortal Blue” (which used 100 prims, and was the cause of my need to take drastic measures in recycling prims), was soon after replaced by another statue I’d purchased of a woman reading books... appropriate for the entry to a library. To commemorate the architecture of the library, the original dome was placed atop the new Weeping Gate. (Weeping refers to the giant old weeping willow tree that has always been in this area, combined with the sadness I felt at removing the original library). In this way, the old style is partially preserved, and gives an interesting look, as it hovers above the first dome I’d made for the gate. It produces a semblance of layering of domes.

Click this link to teleport to the Weeping Gate

"HISTORY IN CREAM" façade for the House of ACCentaury

The installed façade near completion,

at the House of ACCentaury.

“HISTORY IN CREAM”

Teleport to House of ACCentaury

The UWA Art Challenge inspires me to further certain projects on my sim ACC Alpha. I decided to make a piece of sculpture with a practical use for the April 2011 contest. The piece titled “History in Cream” forms a section of the main entrance of the House of ACCentaury. It is an old structure which has undergone a series of remodels. As such, the building is perpetually a work in progress. The same applies to the seasonal landscape, which nurtures a rolling field of flowers and bamboo leading up to the House.

ACC Alphabet of Prims on the sail of the boat.

A narrative based on centaurs is spontaneously emerging across the ACC Alpha sim, and so they naturally figure into this new composition. As the artwork and writings encourage one another, the centaur becomes a ubiquitous element of the sim. The developing ACC Alphabet of Prims is the written code of these inhabitants. It is built with SL prims to form the alphabet and the hieroglyphs of the script. Described on the sail held in the hands of the centaurs is the dedication of arrival to ACC Alpha from Sparquerry. The texture with the text is shiny and crisp for the reason that it represents language. Unlike corrosion which over time eats into buildings, the ideas of language do not tarnish... or so a legend bases its hopes.

A painter and ceramist in real life, I import examples of my work into SL. Most often, this entails making modifications via Photoshop until the desired effect is achieved. The compositions are most frequently my own, though I occasionally borrow ideas from other artists. In this piece for example, I included a wobbly village scape that is influenced by the artist Soutine. It’s a sketch I did in pastels and charcoal a few years ago. Along with that, I collage textures from my sketch pad that fit the theme. Now an exciting challenge begins: figuring out in 3 dimensions where the shadows fall per the centaurs’ body positions, and factoring in the play of light cast onto the assemblage of characters and props. The texture on the accordion wall and the floor have undergone many transformations. Just as an artist spends many sessions applying layers of paint onto the canvas while composing a painting, the process I used for this piece is quite similar. After applying a texture to the 3d sculpture, I assess its effectiveness, and determine what else is needed. I go back and forth between Photoshop and SL until the effect is complete.

You may take out of the imagery whatever comes to mind. There is no specifically assigned determinant. The architecture of the House of ACCentaury is deconstructive in nature. The clotted painting is literally leaking from the panels onto the ground, soaking the hooves of the centaurs in the very painting for which they belong. In contrast, the back of the sculpture reveals a clean, smooth translucency. This sets off the silhouettes of the centaurs, as were they the inked words on a page of a history book. On site in ACC Alpha, they frame the Southern border of the color saturated Otter Quilt fields. To the North is the ancient darkened colonnade of ACC Builds, which additionally situates the centaurs into context. The process of history, the juices of its conquest, the passing of stories... these are the routes of exploration my centaurs must virtually travel. They assimilate the motif of history.

Thank you for reading,

Haveit Neox April 11 - April 19, 2011

VENISON OPTERA at the Museum on Cranberry Dock

Venison Optera

Currently showing at the North Wing of the Museum on Cranberry Dock.

On the ACC Alpha sim.

Visit the Museum (

http://slurl.com/secondlife/ACC%20Alpha/34/196/23)

Several months ago, a friend sent me an lm to see the works of Venison Optera. Enthralled with her carefully worked illustrative style and subject matter of an imaginary and psychologically rich animal world, I found myself standing for a long time before her small gem-like works, taking a journey into the art, letting my imagination go free. Below is a statement written by the artist about her connection to her work. I wish you a fine adventure of 'creative play' throughout Venison's exhibit.

Haveit Neox

Artist Statement:

A few years ago I had the sudden urge to set aside serious art practice in order to try my hand at illustrating my many morbid childhood preoccupations. As a professional artist who rarely had the occasion to draw or paint, I often had to explain myself to people who did not understand that some artists are not image makers. It's while exploring these more amusing aspects of traditional artmaking that I slowly rediscovered the pleasure of creative play, something which had been discouraged by a formal art education that no longer considered illustration a relevant artform. How fitting it is to have found a home for these works in Second Life where the ease of a virtual lifestyle lends itself so perfectly to simple childhood joys.

- Venison Optera

New Café : Paperback Pixels

A date such as 1 11 11 brings out the creative impulse in me. I wanted to have my new Paperback Pixels café up and running for guests at What’s The News Hunt by today - and I did! The first discussion group held on my sim was high in the sky, now I am bringing it down to earth... quite literally, as most of the build tunnels into a hillside, joining the cliffside village to the subterranean library. Enjoy coffee, snacks and drinks. If you are interested in such discussions as poetry or the visual arts, please let me know and I’ll keep you posted.

To visit the Paperback Pixels café, check ACC café. It’s in my picks (Haveit Neox). And remember to pick up your free gift for the What’s The New Hunt at the Museum Shop on my sim. Happy 11th !

The One One Eleven Room, at Darkrodin Pier

I remodeled a skybox purchased at Abiss, and placed it atop the Darkrodin pier. Being that it is the only build in ACC from which I didn't start from scratch, I have been working to make the large square prefab room fit upon my older build: the smaller rectangular ground floor room that supports it. I bought the room because it has shadow textures baked into the interior walls, floor and ceiling. Next came breaking open some walls, retexturing the exterior, and furnishing the space. Enjoy the views which give onto the Bay, onto Heralds' Knoll, and onto the sunken jungle of Canopy Maze.

The room contains posters of venues outside of ACC Alpha. This is like a travel agency in that respect. Landmarks and/or web links are generally available when clicking on the posters.

Because I completed the basis of the new room on 1/1/11, I call it the 1 1 11 room. The four pillars at the entry are evident of this nomenclature.

Below is the URL to the ONE ONE ELEVEN room.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/ACC%20Alpha/219/90/34